The San Benito High boys basketball teams were swept by visiting
St. Francis, but all three games Friday night came down to the
wire.
The varsity team, which was up by as many as 11 points in the
first half, lost 56-54.
The San Benito High boys basketball teams were swept by visiting St. Francis, but all three games Friday night came down to the wire.
The varsity team, which was up by as many as 11 points in the first half, lost 56-54.
“Our kids played hard all game,” said Baler coach David Kaplansky. “We showed that we can play competitively with a competitive, well-coached team.”
Although the 10-4 Balers are on a two-game losing streak, the team has lost three of its games by a combined total of seven points. In the first game of the season, the Balers lost by 20 points to Burlingame, who had already played a handful of games.
St. Francis (6-5) has also lost its share of close games this season, playing in some tough tournaments. Much of the Lancer offense Friday was centered around putting Matt Loretz in motion for his shuffle cuts.
Both the Balers’ and the Lancers’ top two scorers scored 25 and 15 points each. Kyle Sharp and Anthony Butler gave the Balers a big presence down low, while Danny Gordon and Loretz led the Lancers in scoring.
“We were able to get some good movement,” Butler said. “We just have to be able to finish. It was a good game to get us ready for when it counts in league.”
The Balers were down 52-50 with three minutes to go in the game after a technical was awarded for questioning a call, but the Balers came back.
Eric Davis found Butler for a bucket, and then Butler hit another basket to force St. Francis to call a timeout with 2:02 left. The Lancers went up 56-54 with a bucket and a pair of free throws.
After a wild series of multiple turnovers by both teams in the final two minutes, the Balers had one more chance. St. Francis called timeout with 5.7 seconds left. Davis took a shot, but it was knocked away.
“We stalemated as far as the passing,” Kaplansky said. “Instead of throwing the ball up where the guys could receive it, we were throwing it down where the defense could get it. We weren’t giving them (the post players) any momentum.”
Sharp had a couple blocks in the first quarter to set the stage for the Balers. In the second half, he had a two-handed dunk on a steal after he had been called for a travel when he was getting set. The dunk gave the Balers some momentum and helped the team start a 10-0 run that put them up 31-20.
The Lancers were able to close the gap by creating some quality scoring chances.
“We were turning the ball over too much,” said St. Francis coach Steve Filios. “Their defense caused us to think that guys were open. All of a sudden we are making passes to people who aren’t there.”
But those phantom Balers disappeared in the second half as the Lancers posted a 19-10 third quarter to take a one-point lead going into the fourth.
St. Francis hit three of its six three pointers in the third quarter. The tally included one from three quarters down the field as the buzzer sounded before the half to shrink the Baler lead to 33-25.
“They took it to us in the first half,” said St. Francis assistant coach Bill Delaney, who headed the program for 15 years. “We made a few adjustments to try to get help on the back side and get the post denial. We were able to take some of the lob passes away. It created some turnovers and open-court possessions.”
“They (the Balers) didn’t board as well in the second half,” Filios added.
San Benito had several good looks from the post in the first half. But in the second, many were thrown short and resulted in turnovers.
“I felt our posts were open throughout the game,” Kaplansky said. “The difference between the second half and first half was we didn’t make as good of post entry. We struggled to make a good lead pass.”
San Benito will conclude its preseason play this week at Seaside on Wednesday and then against Monte Vista Christian on Friday.
Notes: Jason Sims left the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter after he was elbowed in the nose, and added some extra coloring to his jersey. Kaplansky told him it was up to him if he came back. But he chose not to go back in. He is expected to be able to play in Wednesday’s game. …The Balers and Lancers combined for just eight free throws in the game. … A moment of silence was observed before the game for JV wrestling coach Armando Quintana, who passed away last Tuesday while coaching.
St. Francis 15 10 19 12––56
San Benito 17 16 10 10––54
St. Francis: Gordon 8 0-1 25, Loretz 6 0-0 15, Miller 2 2-2 9, Budelli 1 0-0 2, Bisordi 0 2-2 5,
San Benito: Sharp 12 1-2 25, Butler 7 1-1 15, Zanella 3 0-0 6, Davis 2 0-0 4, Moisa 1 0-0 2, Sims 1 0-0 2
Three-pointers– SF-Gordon (3), Miller, Loretz, Bisordi
